I Am Just One

Prologue

It had been one thousand years since he had last looked at this blasted blue planet. He dreaded having to return to this place only to be torn from it again when he finally grew to liking his host and the humans he got to see. Every single time he was sent here, he had to leave way too soon for his liking. Maybe this time would be different. Maybe he could convince Unus to help him stay just a bit longer.

Either way, he just hoped his new host would be easy to control. He usually got tougher hosts since the one in charge knew just how quickly he would be to break a weaker one down. He wished that just once he would get to have a host he could really have some fun with.

He felt himself grow closer to his host as he entered a place with quite a lot of people. It was definitely a more populated area which meant it would be hard to use his powers without being seen. Annus suppressed a groan as he turned toward the nicer houses of the area. Of course he would be getting a rich guy. Rich guys tended to be darker people with no care for those around them.

As he drifted closer, he began to feel the emotions of the man he would soon become one with. He seemed to be feeling lost and scared. That was a good sign for sure. He could begin picking out specific fears of this man as he approached a certain house. This man wanted to make the whole world happy yet felt as if he helped no one. He seemed to want to know each individual person that looked up to him and make them all feel seen. That was definitely impossible from what Annus could see.

The deity finally saw the man in question. Of course, his appearance was not a shock to him. His hosts always looked the same since they were chosen before birth for him to possess. He could tell this man in front of him didn't always take care of himself, though. He seemed pretty fit, but there was an emptiness behind his eyes that Annus knew from his own experiences. This host would definitely be an easy one to control, and he even began forming an idea.

"Hey there," he whispered in his host's ear, causing the man to jump. They were alone, so they wouldn't be interrupted, he hoped. "I'm Annus, your new friend." His voice was silky yet distorted like it was being forced to sound like someone specific.

"Why do you sound like me?" His host turned his head in his direction, and his eyes widened as they rested on him. "Why do you look like me?" His voice cracked, and his hands began to shake as he stumbled back.

Annus chuckled and floated toward him, a grin plastered across his face. "Now, Mark, there's no reason to be scared. I told you already; I'm your friend." His smile grew wider as he watched Mark press up against a wall and slide down, staring up at the deity with wide eyes. "We're going to get along just fine, I promise," he said as he finally drifted right up to Mark and combined with him, taking his rightful place inside the man's mind. "Now, our first order of business. We need to find my partner, Unus."

"Why should I do what you say?" Mark questioned to whatever had forced itself into his head.

A groan escaped from Annus as he sat inside his new host's head. "I'm a part of you now, so you should probably just listen to me before I destroy your-"

A loud noise interrupted him, and he watched Mark look down at his phone. He had forgotten this was the age of electronics. Someone named Ethan seemed to be attempting to "FaceTime" Mark. Wait, Ethan looked quite familiar to Annus.

"Hey Mark! I just wanted to remind you that I'm coming over to hang out. Hey, are you okay? You look a bit pale." Annus' eyes widened as he realized who it was. This was Unus' host, and he seemed to be close friends with his own. This was perfect! Annus could easily get in contact with Unus this way, and maybe he could even convince his partner to help him stop the clock so they can stay for as long as they want. They wouldn't have to leave this world again.

His thoughts were interrupted by Mark's shaky voice. "I'm fine, Ethan. I just saw something weird. It's probably because I was playing another horror game earlier. You know how it is." Good save, Mark, Annus thought with a roll of his pitch black eyes.

As the two spoke, Annus decided this would be the best time to implement his idea. He began whispering to Mark as he spoke to Ethan, hoping his host would listen to his simple favor. "Come on, Mark. This will be perfect for you and your fans out there." He loved that he could read his thoughts. Now he knew everything he needed to know about Mark Fischbach aka Markiplier. "You know Ethan would love the idea. Just bring it up to him when he comes over this evening."

"Well, Mark, I'll see you in a bit," Ethan cut in, his finger hovering over his phone.

"Wait! Sorry, Ethan, I just wanted to mention that I do have something I want to talk to you about when you come over if that's okay," Mark started, sounding a little awkward. "I just had an idea for YouTube stuff is all."

Ethan stayed quiet for a moment, but he nodded shortly after. "Alright, buddy. I can't wait to hear your idea tonight. Take care."

And then there was silence as Mark sat on the floor again. It was all coming together just as Annus had wanted. He just needed to make sure Ethan would actually listen to Mark's idea tonight.